Finland is deporting Afghan nationals whose asylums are rejected saying that not everyone who comes to Finland is entitled to protection under the Refugee Convention.
A statement released by the country’s embassy in Kabul on Tuesday states that Under-Secretary of State Pirkko Hämäläinen visited Kabul on 21–23 February to discuss the Memorandum of Understanding between Afghanistan and Finland regarding the return of Afghans who are not granted asylum in Finland.
The statement further states that the negotiations with Afghanistan will continue in the spring and Finland hopes that an agreement on the returns will be concluded as soon as possible.
Including 5,200 Afghans over 32,000 asylum seekers of different nationalities entered Finland last year. The country’s government says vast majority of them will not receive a permission to stay in Finland and they will be deported.
An unprecedented number of them have also cancelled their applications and returned to their countries of origin before their cases have been reviewed.
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö in his speech at the opening of Parliament on 3 February said: “we must help those who are in distress or being persecuted. At the moment, however, we cannot help those who are merely seeking a better life or feel that their circumstances and future are difficult in their home countries”.
